IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director Mahendra Pratap Mall is of the view that once the vaccine is out the travel and hospitality sector will get an instant boost. In conversation with CNBC-TV18, Mall discussed trends and the road to recovery as travel gradually resumes.

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He said, "Prior to COVID-19, we were doing business on an average of roughly 8-8.5 lakh tickets per day, and currently we are doing about 5 lakh tickets per day. We have reached more than 50 percent of pre-COVID levels on average."

"Bookings are going up as the number of COVID-19 patients is drastically coming down. The news of the vaccine being available in the near future is also good news for the industry on a whole. These factors are sending out a positive signal in the travel and hospitality sector," he said.

However, he shared that IRCTC was not planning of increasing convenience fees.

"We are selling ready-to-eat food on trains. Sell is much less compared to pre-COVID times as there are far less passengers and many of them are carrying their own food," he explained.

Speaking of capex plans, Mall mentioned, "We have not shelved any capex plan. We have deferred it by a year."

To know more, watch the video.

(Edited by : Bivekananda Biswas)

First Published:Jan 5, 2021 4:40 PM IST